Community Chat

[Porcelain]

I thought it was a fad. How is this thing different from a fax? Why would I tie up my phone (there were no widely used cell phones then either) with a modem? Why not just call someone or FexEx documents?

At the time only cyberpunk authors were discussing anything remotely like what we have now.

[songbird]

@aroc3435  My brother in law does not have an email address.  He doesn't have a computer at home. He finally got a cell phone, but an old style flip phone without internet.  We can only reach him by phone.

[FlyersGirl]

Mid eighties for me both for work and home. I loved it. It did not seem "slow" to me at the time as it was so new. (still love that old "dial up" sound)  I had a personal compuserve account and liked exploring news and chat sites. 

I travelled a lot for business and was given a Compaq "laptop" to take with me. OMG I think it was like 15 pounds with the computer and the case I had to lug around.

The company I worked for was very tech savvy and seemed to always equip us with the "latest and greatest" available.

[Marp]

I started online with freenets and dial up so by the time Compuserve,  Prodigy, Delphi, etc. came along I was more than ready to "upgrade" and haven't looked back.

[Kachina624]

For years we used CRTs with a mainframe computer system so we were somewhat familiar with the equipment.  Then one day we had an orientation class for PCs.  The facilitator was giving background and as she talked, I managed to get to QVC and order a bracelet (SS with lapis) that I'd been admiring....my very first online order.

The week before I retired, my new first PC was delivered.  I never even unpacked it but soon after, bought my own.

[Nick and Nora]

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@Sooner wrote:

Oh my goodness I remember it so well!  I saw it at work, in the very early 90's and I felt like I had seen someone make a fire for the first time.  I was stunned.  

I understood the impact that would have on life, and the impact on the world.  It struck me like I had just seen writing or an alphabet.  It was hard to wrap my head around it thinking about all the possibilities from "letters" to commerce to news, and the breadth of communication.

I would never have thought it would happen so fast and be available to so many so soon.

What did you think?  

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I thought, 'Duz not want!'

And now look at me.  💻 🖥 🖨 😜

[Porcelain]

I remember having a black laptop computer for work that had a tiny little joysick embedded in the center of the keyboard, topped with what was basically a little pencil eraser. And I remember the constant AOL CDs in the mail. People used them as coasters. I remember Netscape. And the importance of internet directories that were basically like yellow pages for websites. There were few enough sites back then that you could list them by category.

And everyone capitalized "the Internet" and World Wide Web and E-Mail. There was a bunch of controversy over deciding how to spell email.

[Carmie]

I bought my first computer, an IBM, at Montgomery Ward on January 18, 1992.  I remember the date because it was my daughter's birthday and she thought it was for her.

My DH asked what I was going to do with it and I replied, I was going to figure it out and use it.  Everyone would have one some day.

I hooked it up according to the instructions and plugged in the cord and attached it to My phone jack.  I put in a disk that was included and uploaded Prodigy.  In a day or two, I was doing great.  I bought a book on how to use DOS, there was no Windows back then and there wasn't really too much on the web either.  It took time for the web to catch up.

I mostly used it for chat rooms.  It was expensive...$3.95 an hour.

A few years later, we got PC's at work.  My boss wanted to send me for training...by then Windows was up and running.  I laughed at him and told him, I could run circles around the trainer.

[hckynut]

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@Sooner wrote:

@hckynut   And THAT is why men need wives!  So they will learn about new things and not be old stick-in-the mud's!!!!!!!!

At least that's usually how it works at my house!  

@Sooner 

Well, actually she wasn't my "wife" till over 10 years later. You are however right, had it not been for her, it might have been years before I bought one.

I was however using an AT&T in house computer when I was an inspector. Quality Control Technician is a more glorified name used by some to make it sound more sophisticated, or a profession, but it was just a hourly pay blue collar job.

The company offered free computer classes, but I preferred using my time catching up on the new audio and video technologies. Was spending a lot of time installing VCR's for friends and co-workers at the time.

After my spending hours over a couple years on the computer and the internet, ended up with me teaching my "now wife". She liked to say, "no you do it, you know how"!

I put her through lots of he!! with me always updating our audio system, and also adding more peripherals devices to our computers. Had to have Surround sound and such, ya know.

Why do I end up telling a story from such a simple/true comment like yours ? SMH

hckynut 

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[Flatbush]

The first time I saw it, I was stunned. Then one day, I was walking through a mall, and saw an Apple store. I walked out with my first Mac. It was not my last one . It changed my life.